Alireza Jahan-mihan

Alireza Jahan-mihanAssistant Professor,
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics,
University of North Florida,
USA

Biography

Alireza Jahan-mihan, PhD. RD. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of North Florida. He has more than twenty yearsâ experience in research, food industry and clinical practice. He completed his doctoral degree at the university of Toronto in the field of Nutrition. His primary research focus is on the role of functional foods and their dietary bioactive components in health and diseases. The specific focus of his research program is on physiological and nutritional functions of dietary proteins and peptides. Both animal and clinical approaches are applied to reveal underlying mechanisms of functional foods and also to examine the applicability of research outcomes. The results of his research have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Moreover, he has been invited to various national and international seminars and conferences to present his research findings.

Research Interest

My ultimate research goal is to discover the role of functional foods in health and diseases. There is growing evidence supporting the role of diet and food components during pregnancy and lactation on development of obesity and chronic diseases in offspring. Therefore, my particular interest is to understand how food components and primarily proteins and peptides consumed during pregnancy and lactation can influence risk of obesity and chronic diseases in next generation. Moreover, factors affecting food intake and appetite as key components in prevention and treatment of obesity and its comorbidities are my particular research interest. I am conducting both animal and clinical studies to discover underlying mechanisms of functional foods and also to examine the applicability of research outcomes. It helps me to transfer knowledge and findings from lab bench to the community level and facilitate collaboration between academia, community and food industry. My previous studies showed that the source of proteins consumed during pregnancy and lactation can influence the risk of obesity, glucose intolerance and hypertension in rats. Currently, I have two ongoing studies in my lab: 1- A clinical study examining the effect of intensity of exercise on appetite and food intake in normal weight and obese young males. 2- An animal study examining the role of CCK receptor in satiety induced by whey, GMP and casein in rats. I am also going to conduct a major animal study examining the role of characteristics of casein during pregnancy and lactation on obesity and chronic diseases in offspring soon.